Exactly. Converting sugar to alcohol is an exothermic reaction (It produces heat). With vigorous ferments you sometimes have to cool the carboys by giving them an ice bath
No fermenting going on...I think
- Thread starter DnaNC
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The vendor literature I've read regarding wine yeast has stated that some are good above 105 F, and that higher temperatures are beneficial for yeast growth. I've been using 92-95 F water for my overnight starters, which cools to room temperature overnight, so it's at ambient temperature when I inoculate.
@DnaNC, Finer Wine Kits advocates an 18-24 hour starter. I've been making starters ~6PM and inoculating the following morning at ~8AM, and this process starts ferments within 24 hours 100% of the time in 10+ batches.
DnaNC
Junior
Tomato wine??? Intriguing! How did that taste at the end?
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DnaNC
Junior
1.019 today!
So my next step is wait until it is below 1.01 (?) and get pulp out, and then siphon it to my other bucket and put the airlock on it, correct?
I'm reading about headspace and carboys. I don't have a carboy. Is strawberry wine ok to do secondary fement in a bucket? How full does it have to be? I think it will be pretty full.
So my next step is wait until it is below 1.01 (?) and get pulp out, and then siphon it to my other bucket and put the airlock on it, correct?
I'm reading about headspace and carboys. I don't have a carboy. Is strawberry wine ok to do secondary fement in a bucket? How full does it have to be? I think it will be pretty full.
I had already canned marinara sauce, pizza sauce, salsa and rotel and still had tomatoes left so I thought why not.
No tomato flavor. Very much like chardonnay. It's in bulk aging now and I haven't decided if I'll back sweeten. Bottom line - it was fun and good!
Actually you could transfer any time but many people wait till they're close to 1.00.
It will probably continue to ferment for a day or two or more and continue to give off CO2, so...
You can put the airlock on the bucket, yes, for a little while BUT you really need another container where there will be minimal headspace...and soon! A carboy, gallon jugs something that will have little headspace and preferably not much surface area.
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As Dave pointed out, surface area is the problem. In a bucket the wine is a flat surface and there is a lot of air exposure, which will result in oxidation. Plus exposure to plastic not designed for long term exposure to acid, alcoholic liquids is bad.
I use 4 liter jugs (Carlo Rossi wines are great for cooking and the jug goes into the winery) for small amounts. For the most part I use 3 gallon, 19 liter, and 23 liter carboys, and 25 & 54 liter demijohns. Fill the container to within 3" of the bottom of the stopper.
Oxidation is a function of wine volume vs headspace volume vs time. A small volume of wine with a large headspace oxidizes quickly.
DnaNC
Junior
Ok this is crazy. I was telling my husband I have to go buy a carboy. He said "what's a carboy?" I said it's like a really giant bottle. He said "oh, we have one in the basement. '
"Say what?" Sure enough, He goes down and brings up a glass 5 gallon carboy. Apparently he took a beer making class 10 years ago and never made any beer.
Awesome!
So my strawberry stuff went to 1.0 today so we (very amateurishly) siphoned it into the sterilized carboy with a tube and a funnel and a strainer and it is bubbling like crazy, like 2 or almost 3 bubbles a second. You can see the must moving in constant motion up toward the top. I hope it stays in there!
It's not clear at all.
"Say what?" Sure enough, He goes down and brings up a glass 5 gallon carboy. Apparently he took a beer making class 10 years ago and never made any beer.
Awesome!
So my strawberry stuff went to 1.0 today so we (very amateurishly) siphoned it into the sterilized carboy with a tube and a funnel and a strainer and it is bubbling like crazy, like 2 or almost 3 bubbles a second. You can see the must moving in constant motion up toward the top. I hope it stays in there!
It's not clear at all.
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Congratulations. It won't be long and you'll be drinking Strawberry wine and watching leaves compile on the ground.
'I use 4 liter jugs (Carlo Rossi wines are great for cooking and the jug goes into the winery)'
LOL, exactly what I did! Earlier I said that Carlo Rossi isn't a great wine (drinkable), but I got a carboy out of the deal!
LOL, exactly what I did! Earlier I said that Carlo Rossi isn't a great wine (drinkable), but I got a carboy out of the deal!
Congratulations!
Things look fine. The wine won't look like wine for weeks, or in some cases, months.
Keep an eye on the carboy; if the fermentation gets vigorous, it could push solids out the airlock. Nothing bad, just messy.
DnaNC
Junior
Am I just waiting for the bubbling to stop now, and then rack it again?
Racking is a much discussed topic here. Some follow a schedule that might call for several rackings before bottling. I’m in camp rack-less. If you left all the fruit solids behind last time the lees now should be yeast hulls, which will not harm the wine. I would leave it until it clears on its own. That may take a few months. After it clears I may rack one more time for bulk aging before bottling.
The bubbling isn't a good indication of when things are done, so you'll want to use your hydrometer. I agree with @winemaker81 that you'll want to keep an eye on you batch as really active fermentation can make your wine overflow - might want to put a towel down.
+1 on everything @ChuckD said. I would not get in too big of a hurry to rack the wine again.
On another note, the strawberry wine would likely benefit from back sweetening - menaing, adding back a simple syrup to taste. You'll want to add sorbate to prevent fermentation from kicking off again, but you'll back sweeten only after the wine is clear and ready for bottling. Bench tasting and testing for the right sugar addition will be one of your next big steps.
On another note, the strawberry wine would likely benefit from back sweetening - menaing, adding back a simple syrup to taste. You'll want to add sorbate to prevent fermentation from kicking off again, but you'll back sweeten only after the wine is clear and ready for bottling. Bench tasting and testing for the right sugar addition will be one of your next big steps.
Give the wine another week, then test the SG. If it's below 0.998 and doesn't change for 3 days, call it done. THEN you rack.
Add K-meta (gallon jug, 1 Campden tablet is the correct dose, and let it rest for 2 to 3 weeks -- a lot of sediment will drop. Rack again and add another Campden, and topup.
After that, bulk aging, which is about as exciting as watching grass grow or watching golf.
DnaNC
Junior
thank you!!
FlamingoEmporium
Senior Member
BigDaveK gets excited watching anything in his yard grow that might make wine.
Emotional roller coaster here. Walk outside and see a dozen wine ingredients - and none are ready. The agony!
DnaNC
Junior
My strawberry wine has a LOT of sediment at the bottom. It has only been sitting there since I racked it into this carboy 4 days ago. I don't think I did a very good job straining it. I was so worried about getting too much oxygen in it that I didn't pour it through anything. I just skimmed the fruit off the top and siphoned it over. Should I wait until its been another week or more and is stable, add Campden, and then rack it and try to backsweeten if necessary then? Or since there is so much, just do it now?
